The common man wants Kejriwal to be PM: Aam Aadmi Party

New Delhi, Jan 12: Amid lack of clarity in Aam Aadmi Party on declaring its Prime Ministerial candidate, senior party leader Gopal Rai said the common man wants Arvind Kejriwal to occupy the top post.

"It is the people who want (Kejriwal as the PM). Arvind Kejriwal doesn't want (to be a PM) but the aam aadmi wants. (They want that) there should be a prime minister who is one of them. Even we would want that he emerges as the prime minister," Rai told PTI.

AAP has launched a massive membership drive after its declaration that it would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from 20 states. Rai, who was publicly rebuked at Ralegaon Siddhi by Anna Hazare last month, said despite the soured relationship with AAP, party members still shared an ideological relationship with the veteran activist.

Asked about party leader Yogendra Yadav's comment that he wanted to see Kejriwal as India's prime minister, Rai said what matters is what the common man wants.

"My will or that of Yadav or Kejriwal may not necessarily be the country's will. What matters is what the country wants. The common man wants that India gets a prime minister like Arvind Kejriwal. He is a hope among the people," he said.

The AAP leader, who is overseeing the party's membership drive -- 'Mein Bhi Aam Aadmi' -- said although BJP won elections in four states last year, the Delhi assembly victory had an impact on the nation.

"In the five states that went to polls last year, BJP won in four while AAP won 28 seats in Delhi, but it had a huge impact on the whole country," he said. He said people now feel politics is coming closer to them, which is why it is an important change.